From 2013-2022, 9,946 students, along with their teachers, toured Mano a Mano’s Center for Ecological Agriculture (CEA) and attended classes designed to engage children. The majority of the students live in the Cochabamba area and attend local public primary and secondary schools. A small local foundation, Arboles y Futuro, contributes $0.40 per student for the tour and class. Together these learning experiences:
- Show urban and peri-urban children how their food is grown;
- Train them on the basics of healthy eating and good sanitation;
- Emphasize the value of recycling;
- Teach them the importance of caring for their natural environment.
The CEA experimented with hydroponic methods for growing fodder during 2020. It demonstrated that, using this method, it could grow more food in less space and at lower cost, while maintaining nutritional value. Now, hydroponically raised fodder is a primary food source for its animals.
CEA staff and volunteers recently created a new experience for visiting students. Volunteers divide a tray of fodder into 15-20 pieces and give one piece to each student. Students feed their pieces of fodder to the guinea pigs.
“Kids love this activity,” say the CEA volunteers. “Involving students in feeding the animals gives us an opportunity to talk about why healthy food is important for kids too.”
Learn More About the CEA
- Distributing Supplies Throughout Bolivia and Providing Training and Education Programs: Mano a Mano Internacional 2022 Report
- Training Farmers to Prepare Organic Fertilizer in Arampampa, Bolivia
- Providing a Week-Long Agriculture Seminar in Cochabamba
- Moving Another Step Forward in Mano a Mano’s Long-Term Sustainability
- Improving the Water Well at Mano a Mano’s Center for Ecological Agriculture in Cochabamba, Bolivia
